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-   -   Ownership tussle for my Lexus ES300h (ex-demo vehicle) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-dealerships/215755-ownership-tussle-my-lexus-es300h-ex-demo-vehicle.html)

As you can see from my posts on Team-BHP, we had purchased Lexus ES300h on January 4th 2019 from Lexus Gurgaon. The car was previously used as a demo vehicle by Cosmic Motors Pvt Ltd (Owners of Lexus, Gurgaon) with hypothecation from Toyota Financial Services and is registered in their name.
As per our negotiations during the purchase of the car with Sales Advisor, we were assured that ownership will be transferred to us within a week of purchase along with extended warranty, 2nd Key fob and valet key card.
During the purchase period we were always assured by the Sales Advisor that we will not face any difficulties and the formalities will be completed in a matter of few days. Being satisfied with his response, we paid the negotiated payment of the car (Rs. 57,00,000) along with Extended Warranty of the vehicle as part of the negotiations along with delivery of 2nd Key and a Valet key within a week.


Timeline: January’19 to Feb’19

Till the time Sales Advisor was on payroll of Cosmic Motors, whenever I visited their showroom at the Oberoi hotel, we were assured by him to not to worry at all, the formalities are completed, and the paperwork has been submitted to RTO and the R.C will be transferred to us within a week. This phase of repeated visits to them by me happened till February.
But still, the Insurance, R.C, keys were not transferred to us.
During this, we suffered lot of harassment. I had to make several visits to the office of Lexus Gurgaon in Oberoi hotel and every time they said it will be done in one week. Their I met Mr. Abhimanyu Mehta regarding this, and again he said the same dialogue of another week, each time and every week. The Sales Advisor went AWOL after sometime and I had to track him down on LinkedIn and Facebook to contact him further. But it was of no use because he said that he was just a sales executive at Lexus. All the controlling authority is with the MD and Dealer Principal. I said if you had known about the issues happening at Lexus Gurgaon, you definitely knew what kind of situation we are getting ourselves into. But I knew that he won’t be able to help me in this regard.


Timeline: March’19 to June’19

In the month of March, I’ve written an E-mail complaint regarding the situation to Mr Abhimanyu Mehta and kept Lexus India in loop. But was reverted by him that he is out of station and will reply to me once he gets back. After the E-mail, he stopped answering my calls and messages and I was stuck in a difficult situation. Another 15 days went by.
In the meantime, I contacted Mr. Pradeep Chahbra (Managing Director, Cosmic Motors Pvt Ltd).
Through the help of fellow BHPian, I also contacted senior executives of Lexus, Mr. Maharaj Mukheree, Mr. Neeraj Sharma and wrote a complaint for the same to them on E-mail. Later I was reverted on the issue by Mr. Appaiah K.B (National Manager of Marketing, Lexus India) assuring me that his team is looking into the problem and will be resolved as soon as possible and that my car is not under threat of repossession.
People at Toyota Financial Services and the MD of Cosmic Motors kept on blaming the other person for the delay. The MD said I’ve made the payment of the car and when I contacted TFS regarding this, they said we’ve not received the payment and the delay is at their end.
According to the MD of Cosmic Motors and Executive at Lexus, the workshop and showroom of Grace Toyota was going to be leased to Uttam Toyota, and they were supposed to pay the dues of the inventory to Grace Toyota which will then transfer it to Toyota Financials.
The MD assured me that he has no shortage of funds and just wanted to get out of Automotive business that’s why he is exiting Toyota and have deposited the required funds to Toyota.
Uttam Toyota is up and running but still the dues are not cleared.


Timeline: July’19 to November’19

After facing lots of delay and seeing that the insurance of my car is about to expire in August (later renewed by Cosmic Motors), we decided to reach the Police to register our complaint. Here we were advised to try to sort the matter by discussion and not to register FIR for the time being.
So, the executives of Cosmic Motors were summoned to the Station.
The people of Cosmic Motors assured us in front of police officers that the ownership will be transferred to us within two weeks. Seeing that now the matter has reached to the Police and they would expedite the process. we again gave them the opportunity to complete the due process and transfer the car to us. But again, after two weeks they demanded more time. This time we said that either transfer the car to us or take the car back and give us the money we paid.
In hindsight, maybe this is what they wanted to hear from us because this will buy them more time to elongate the process. Again, they agreed to complete the formalities within 20 days or else the amount for the car will be reimbursed to us.
Suddenly out of the blue, a guy from Lexus Delhi, turned up at our office with the 2nd Key and Valet key for the car. He said the keys were with Toyota Financial Services and they were instructed to deliver it to us. But then I found out that Valet key is programmed with other car and again, it is back with them so that we can get the correct key. Still no updates on this.
In September’19, unable to get the NOC from Toyota Financials, the MD of Cosmic Motors agreed to reimburse the amount for the car in the form of Cheque but again took his own sweet time to give it. He constantly gave excuses of family problems, health issues, Foreign travel etc. But in the month of October, he gave us the cheque dated for 18th November’2019.
Trying to avoid the legal process and the hassles that come with it, we took the cheque and decided to wait for a month. But as I was expecting, today the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds.

Summary:

I’ve omitted instances and discussions from my repeat visits, phone calls and Emails to MD of Cosmic motors, Dealer principle and Lexus Executives, the excuses which we’ve faced nearly every week from the date of purchase because it will unnecessarily elongate the post. But we’ve suffered a lot from the date we purchased the car.
My car is seen as an asset of Cosmic Motors because it is still registered to them, It appears that Toyota Financial Services is not giving NOC to Cosmic Motors for it till the time he clears his dues to them. Also, the MD of Cosmic Motors deposited some money to Toyota Financial as a general deposit not specifically for my car so that NOC could be procured. Both of them are trying to save money or demanding more money from each other and our car is used as an leverage by both Toyota Financials Services and Cosmic Motors and we are stuck in their tussle of dues. But it just seems that we’ll have to go legal way now.

Wow. That is quite the ordeal. Seems like the dealership was trying to earn a quick buck. I guess the main takeaway is to never buy a demo vehicle or a vehicle the seller does not 100% own and that you can never trust a salesman's sweet words. Good luck!

Wow. That is so pathetic specially after paying 50+L for the car. Dealers across India lack any moral fibre/ethics whatsoever but there was still hope that the parent company (Toyota in this case) would come to your help. I hope the check bouncing turns out to be a good thing as that would become another strong point in your favour. From the looks of it the dealer is out of money and you should try and salvage your money ( even if it slightly less) and get out of this at the earliest.

OMG, I feel so bad for what you have to go through. Couple of thoughts on the top of my mind :

- No Amount of Caution is good enough when making a high end purchase in India. Any brand can literally take the customer for a toss owing to weak consumer rights

- There is no Ethics of doing business in India irrespective of the Brand they belong to

Sorry to hear your plight having spend such an huge amount.

High time we have solid consumer protection rights and faster resolution to the issues.(main problem)
Else the common man is taken for a ride by corporate.

Oh man that is quite an ordeal to go for a car! I hope things sort out soon, but I am sure that a bounced cheque is a serious offence and you can straight away put a criminal proceeding or even take them to NCLT, which I am sure if they have the money (in any other account as well), they will honour.

Else you would at least know if the entire group has sufficient funds or not, as they would be assigned to a IRP for liquidation. It will be good to also check if they are not already listed in the IBBI.

Good luck!

I have ONE QUESTION for Lexus = where the heck is your legendary customer service? Where is your exemplary support when a customer has been harassed like this? The main reason people buy your overpriced CBUs is the promise of reliability & peace-of-the mind :Frustrati:Frustrati.

You aren't selling too many cars - the least you can do is pamper the handful of Lexus owners you have!

And before you even think of pushing this onto your dealer, let me tell you this = you are RESPONSIBLE for your dealer. Your dealer is the face of your brand. When we buy a Lexus, we do so because of your brand, not the dealer.

This thread has been added to our homepage.

Fifty seven lakhs for a vehicle is no small sum, and this is the experience one has to go through?

It's obvious that the entire sum has been swallowed up by the stealership and then they quoted every excuse in the book to delay the inevitable legal proceedings over 10 months.

Case of fraud, cheque bounce and clear evidence against stealership..hope they are shut down for good after the proceedings, its clear that they are in major financial rut. If possible try to get as much of your money back and give back the car to its true owner - the loan company.

It is always prudent to get things done and set in stone especially with cars, homes or when large amounts of money are involved.

That being said, the most sensible way for you out of this is to sell back the car to Cosmic Motors and get back your money. If that doesn't work out, get an agreement done with them asking for definite period for sorting out the hypothecation or failing to do so they would buy back the car for the same amount that you paid.

If something untoward were to happen, it would cause you a lot of headache running around. Even simple things like claiming insurance and so on.

Exactly this is what happened back in August, we were at the mercy of Cosmic Motors for renewing the Insurance of car. Which he did surprisingly. But if he didn’t, the car just would’ve been a expensive showpiece at home.

I can understand the Anger here. i would have put up hoardings around Delhi if i was allowed. Is there a way of peaceful protest that can catch media attention .

Is this by any means related to troubled dealer? https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ch-2019-a.html . Either way Lexus is to be blamed, if you cannot take care of your dealers, stop selling the cars. Washing hands in the name of dealer is so incorrect.

From this thread some things are very clear:

1. STAY AWAY from lucrative deals where the clear ownership is based on promises and complexities.
2. Be it any company, in India they will wash off their hands with the excuse that it is a matter between the dealer and customer.
3. It is better to file a case with minimal delay as stealerships like these are inclined to dupe a customer hoping that one day customer will be finally exhausted and will let go of such a small amount (small amount according to dealer not customer)
4. Always uphold a certain amount of money as a safeguard if possible

I can only empathize with the customer who has paid 57 lakhs and is still running pillar to post where a reputed organization like Toyota / Lexus is involved!!
Please file a court case without delay and start exposing Lexus on social media. Hoping a positive resolution. Please stay strong.

Absolutely troubling!

You have my complete sympathies. This is a plain case of Fraud.

This looks like working capital game, the whole auto dealership model is based on rotation of working capital. More the turns more the profit.

Imagine a 2% margin on every turn. and 2 rotations per month. Thats 11 months x 2% x 2 = 44% profit from your money.

Pathetic so see Toyota being silent even after the Police intervention. Such threads make me sad and angry at the same time.

@Dhruv29, i would suggest that don't even think of just getting out of this mess by taking less money. A little patience and determination would do no harm. Trust me the worst is over. You have already been harassed. Now take a break, gather yourself and prepare to confront these people head on. A dealership is not the almighty with unlimited resources; they are also normal human beings and they also get tired and harassed. They will also feel the pinch of legal expenses especially when he is already short of money to pay you back.

To make it easy for yourself, you just need to change your mindset. Think of that car amount you paid as a fixed deposit you made for 3 years. And forget about it for that much time.

File a complaint in consumer courts. Trust me they are not that bad. We need to trust our judicial system a bit more. Most of the cases that lag on for long are because of lack of evidence. Which should not be in your case especially because of that bounced cheque (and also the fact that you are ready to sell the car back to them). In all probability you should be able to extract more from them than what you paid (interest, mental harassment). The dealer at best can delay the case for 6 months. Once he files his WS, the case will straight move to argument stage. Consumer courts anyways have a better reputation (in terms of time taken). Atleast please take a legal opinion first before approaching the dealer anymore. Even if you want to settle, settle in court after filing the complaint. That way you will have the upper hand in negotiations. When you will go to court, delaer himself will approach you to settle. Whoever gets approached by the other party is always in a better bargaining position. Then go for the kill and extract the maximum.

Even if you don't want that extra money, take it form him and donate it. Some one needs to teach these dealerships a lesson. File for criminal charges (fraud, Breach of trust etc.) as well to put more pressure. You can also look for a lawyer in this forum as well. A lawyer who is also a member in t-bhp and a car enthusiast should be very motivated for this case of yours. I saw a thread here which was for providing professional help to fellow t-bhpians.

The only running that you will have to do will be till you finalise your initial petition. After that it will be the dealer who will be harassed and you will get paid back in kind. Trust me the person who approaches the court first always has the upper hand.

Just imagine what will happen to the mental state of the dealer in case more people like you have already filed cases against him. I think he will have a meltdown.

P.S. If you decide to file the case which you should, don't even call the dealer once. Don't warn him about the court case at all. He shouldn't have slightest of idea of what's going on in your mind. First mover's advantage you see.

You can even contact me separately in case you need more help.